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Despite the flaming torches of the plebeian plotters which, in the Prologue, etched chiaroscuro omens within the Palladian porticos of Michael Yeargan’s imposing and impressive set, this was a rather slow-burn revival of Elijah Moshinsky’s 1991 production of Simon Boccanegra.

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Advertised in the program as the first opera written in the New World,
La Púrpura de la Rosa (PR) was premiered in 1701 in Lima
(Peru), but more than the historical feat, true or not, accounts for the
piece’s interest.

“German poet, dramatist and novelist. One of the most important literary and cultural figures of his age, he was recognized during his lifetime for his accomplishments of almost universal breadth. However, it is his literary works that have most consistently sustained his reputation, and that also serve to demonstrate most clearly his many-faceted relationship to music. . . .

Music composed by Ambroise Thomas. Libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier after The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare.

First Performance: 9 March 1868, Paris, Opéra.

Principal Roles:

Hamlet

Baritone

Claudius, roi de Danemark

Bass

L’ombre du Feu Roi

Bass

Polonius, grand chambellan

Bass

Laerte, fils de Polonius

Tenor

Gertrude, reine de Danemark et mère d’Hamlet

Mezzo-Soprano

Ophélie, fille de Polonius

Soprano

Synopsis:

Act I

Scene 1. A hall in the castle of Elsinore

Claudius is acclaimed King of Denmark and he and his Queen Gertrude receive
the good wishes of the court. Hamlet broods that although it is only two months
since the death of his father, his mother has already married her
husband’s brother, Claudius.

Ophelia is grieved at his melancholy and reproaches him for neglecting her.
He swears that he does truly love her, and for her sake renounces his plan of
leaving the court. Laertes, about to leave for Norway on a mission from the
king, comes to bid his sister Ophelia and Hamlet farewell. He commits Ophelia
to Hamlet’s care.

To the derision of the carousing courtiers, Marcellus and Horatio announce
that they have seen the ghost of the late king. They are looking for Hamlet to
inform him.

Scene 2. The battlements of the castle

Hamlet joins Horatio and Marcellus. The ghost appears and reveals to Hamlet
that he was poisoned while sleeping by his brother. Hamlet swears revenge.

Act II

Scene 1. A room in the castle

Ophelia is disturbed by Hamlet’s strange coldness. He appears but does
not speak to her, confirming her worst fears. She begs the queen to let her
retire to a convent, but the queen wishes her to stay, hoping that she may
discover the cause of Hamlet’s distracted state and cure him.

The king tells the queen that Hamlet is mad, but she fears that his strange
conduct may indicate that he has discovered their guilty secret. The king
assures her that Hamlet knows nothing and tries to calm her as she becomes
hysterical, having a vision of their murdered victim rising to accuse them.

Hamlet appears, rejects the king’s request to call him father, feigns
madness briefly, then announces the arrival of a troupe of actors. Hamlet
intends to have them perform a play which will recreate the circumstances of
his father’s murder. He welcomes them with a drinking song.

Scene 2. A hall in the castle

The court gathers to see the play. Hamlet tells Horatio to observe the king.
As the play is performed Hamlet describes the action. As the murder is
committed the king orders the play stopped. Hamlet pretends madness, accusing
the king wildly, to the horror of the court, including even Horatio and
Marcellus.

Act III

A room in the castle

Hamlet, angry at himself for his failure to kill the king, watches him at
prayer and holds back again, as he wishes to catch him with his sins
unabsolved. The king, weighed down by his guilt, calls Polonius and Hamlet
realises that Ophelia’s father was an accomplice in the crime.

The queen brings Ophelia to Hamlet, intending to have their wedding
performed; but Hamlet, distressed by his awareness of her father’s
treachery, spurns Ophelia. The queen reproaches Hamlet, only to be accused by
him of complicity in the murder. Unseen by the queen, the ghost appears again.
Hamlet, now calmer, bids his mother goodnight.

Act IV

Open country, near a lake

Ophelia, driven mad by her despair, joins merrymaking peasants. She tells
them she is married to Hamlet, distributes flowers and sings a song to the wili
who, according to her, resides in the lake. She is accidently drowned.

Act V

A graveyard

Hamlet watches two gravediggers at work singing about the transience of
earthly pleasures — except drinking. He has fled the court to escape
being murdered, leaving Horatio to attend to his plans, and is aware of
Ophelia’s madness, but not of her death.

He is joined by Laertes, who is aware of her death and blames Hamlet for his
lack of care for her. He succeeds in provoking Hamlet to a duel but they are
interrupted by Ophelia’s funeral cortege. Hamlet wishes to kill himself
but the appearance of the ghost reminds him of his vow. He kills Claudius and
then joins Ophelia in death.

[In the original version of the opera, Hamlet is acclaimed king at the
end.]